Search Results

Statistics show that teenagers are more likely than any other age group to be in an automobile accident. In several tragic incidents, the use of a cell phone was involved. Some accidents, however, simply reflected the teenagers’ lack of driving experience. As a parent, you can help your teenager become a safe and skilled driver by setting a good ex...

The death of a loved one is a difficult and emotional time for a family. There is often additional stress if you are appointed as the executor of the will and trustee of your family’s trusts, especially if the deceased had been the sole manager of substantial family assets and wealth. For an untrained person, it can be a daunting role. For these re...

When done well, a trustee’s service can have a profoundly positive impact on a family; when done poorly, a trustee’s service can create or exacerbate fissures within a family, dissipate family wealth, create personal liability for the trustee, and create a public spectacle that sullies the family’s good name and reputation. For key employees in fam...

Ultimately, how well your wealth transfer plan fulfills your legacy and meets the needs of the next—and future—generations depends on whom you name as your trustee(s). This makes your trustee selection one of the most critical aspects of an already complex wealth planning process. To help navigate this selection process, work with a framework built...

Everyone has a relationship with money. However, money itself is neutral as a tool used to get what you need and want. And yet it impacts nearly every aspect of life, beginning with how parents teach their children about money. From this view, there’s also a need to recognize its resulting effect. While money is powerful, you are in charge of that ...

Real estate as an asset class requires constant attention to ever-changing variables. Implementing a defined, analytical, yet flexible asset management process within your family office’s direct investment function is critical to ensure your portfolio is positioned to meet intended goals.

Serving as a trustee for your family can be a valuable experience for you, while also providing an important service to your family. But before you accept the position, make sure that you understand the role you will play for the family and are willing to accept the responsibilities and liability that come with it.

Building and managing a portfolio is a continual process that involves numerous decisions. But none of those decisions is more important than how to allocate your wealth across different asset classes. By developing and implementing an asset allocation strategy that fits your particular goals and situation, you can achieve meaningful diversifi...

To effectively serve as a trustee, it's crucial to understand your fiduciary duties. Even trustees with the best of intentions can create liability for themselves by being unprepared for the job or by not fully understanding their obligations. Learn more about some of the common mistakes family trustees make that can lead to lawsuits and other...

As parents, you hope your kids will become safe and courteous drivers. But, it will not happen on its own. Learn the 10 things you can do to help them become safe drivers.

All parents have reasons for why they do or do not share their wealth with their children, and neither option is without challenges. The key for parents is to find the balance between sharing everything and sharing nothing while also passing along the skills required to ensure their children become responsible inheritors and/or beneficiaries. ...

Many families are not aware of important legal issues that affect their 18 – 21-year-old children. Parents are often so focused on the fact that the drinking age is 21 that they do not realize that their 18-year-olds are, for most other purposes, adults in the eyes of the law. Parents no longer have the same access to information or control over th...

Creating portfolios that are customized to a family’s unique investment goals and risk tolerance requires ingenuity and flexible thinking. However, the execution of risk management should be more systematic. Ultimately, the effective investors employ a risk management framework that accounts for potential risk at every stage of the investment proce...

Generally, parents lose access to their child’s health and financial information once the child becomes a legal adult at the age of 18 unless certain steps are taken. To this end, here is a list of seven essential legal documents for parents to complete when their children turn 18 and before they go to college or leave home for ...

Choosing a trustee is a major decision—one that may impact you and your family in many ways for generations to come. Essentially, when you establish a trust for the benefit of others, you are handing down your values through the terms of the trust and your contributed financial assets. And with an increasing number of trusts lasting for multiple ge...